Writer-director Chinonye Chukwu deserves all kinds of acclaim for daring to tell a story about the death penalty through the eyes of one of its enactors — a prison warden, the kind of character that’s usually reduced to a one-dimensional villain on screen. And she also should get props for attracting high-caliber talent like Alfre Woodard and Wendell Pierce for only her second full-length feature. But despite those accomplishments, “Clemency” doesn’t quite resonate.
That’s mostly because “Clemency” doesn’t effectively investigate the conflict upon which its plot hinges. Warden Bernadine Williams (Woodard) is a woman who, by nature of her profession, follows the law unequivocally. She stoically gets up each morning, heads to her prison, and oversees the men on death row — from sifting through their mounds of paperwork to calling the time they take their last breaths in the electric chair. In her world, everything is routine, including going to sleep on the couch alone at night after having sex with her husband, Jonathan (Pierce). All of these are simply meaningless, habitual activities that fill her day.
It’s not until Anthony Woods (Aldis Hodge) is up next to be executed that something begins to unsettle Bernadine emotionally and spiritually. We don’t ever really know why that is, and Bernadine can’t (or won’t, it’s hard to tell which) articulate what brings on this shift. He’s presumably a prisoner like so many other others she’s sent to their deaths before; a man who profusely claims his innocence, whose lawyer (Richard Schiff) and family beg her for mercy.
We’re left to also assume that after witnessing 12 executions prior to Anthony’s number coming up, the job finally began to take its toll on Bernadine. But there is no sense of evolution from the disturbing opening scene, where she remains remarkably detached while a botched execution requires the officers to have to reboot the machine in order to finally kill the inmate, to the point where she’s drinking at the bar, questioning whether Anthony is guilty, and extending her relationship with him beyond the typical, “What do you want your last meal to be?”
Is it because she realizes she has become too entrenched with her job, as her husband claims? Or does her husband threatening to leave bring her to this internal conflict? Chukwu makes it clearer to the audience why we might be at odds with the normalization of the death penalty by showing us in grave detail the horror of the electric chair and carving a moving storyline for Anthony. (In turn, Hodge delivers his most heartrending performance to date.) Just days before his execution, he learns that he has a son, which gives him a sense of hope even when his usually confident lawyer begins to feel discouraged.
But the director’s emotional connection that is so apparent with Anthony is muddled when it comes to her protagonist. While it seems authentic that a woman like Bernadine would be reticent about expressing her presumed moral impasse due to the type of job she has and the fact that she’s a woman in a very masculine industry, Chukwu’s rather aloof screenplay doesn’t really allow her to grapple with any of that. As a result, the final scene — where Bernadine is overwhelmed with tears at her usual spot in the execution room — doesn’t have the impact that it should.
And Woodard’s performance is also hampered by it. It goes without saying that she is a tremendous actress who can exude so much emotion from even the coldest characters (just watch her in “12 Years a Slave,” for example), but she can’t draw from what isn’t there. Likewise, Pierce’s undeniable talent can’t uplift his stark Jonathan, who’s understandably frustrated by his wife’s distance but also doesn’t have compelling enough dialogue to interrogate truly what’s happening in their relationship.
“Clemency” is a film that is just almost great. The level of restraint Chukwu has in her writing and execution, while admirable, is the very thing that prevents it from truly soaring. Eric Branco’s cinematography is also perplexing, going from appropriately stark hallway shots alone with Bernadine to panning in so close to a refreshingly intimate scene between her and a priest (Michael O’Neill) that his head is cut out of the frame.
With just hints of brilliance in an otherwise lacking film, Chukwu tries to present a story that is ultimately about the human condition, but because she fails to pursue more deeply the ways in which Bernadine navigates her emotional space, the audience is removed from the character. The protests outside the prison declaring Anthony’s innocence, and the guard who can no longer handle the inside of the execution room, do a better job at illustrating the scope of the death penalty than contouring the character around which the film is supposed to be based. It makes “Clemency” almost completely inaccessible.
50 Actresses Over 50 Who Still Rule Hollywood (Photos)
These strong women have aged gracefully — while still governing Hollywood.
The Australian Oscar winner has kept busy with blockbusters ("Aquaman"), award-winning indies ("Boy Erased") and TV hits like HBO's "Big Little Lies" and "The Undoing."
After starring in 2015's "Cinderella," this Oscar nominee reprised a different Disney role as the Red Queen in "Alice Through the Looking Glass." And then won acclaim on Netflix's "The Crown."
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Yuh-Jung Youn (birthdate: 06/19/47)
South Korean actress Yuh-Jung Youn has graced Korean screens for decades and recently brought her talents to the U.S. in "Minari," earning her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2021.
Aside from the fact that she's the only black woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress, she recently starred in "X-Men: Days of Future Past," "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum" and two movies in the "Kingsman" series.
An accomplished SAG and Emmy winner, Davis starred in ABC’s hit series "How to Get Away With Murder" and the two "Suicide Squad" movies (including a 2021 sequel). She also starred in the 2020 drama "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."
Following the enormous success of her breakout series "Sex and the City," Jessica Parker starred in a string of romantic comedies. She starred in HBO's comedy "Divorce."
The Oscar nominee has been busy, voicing the mother in Pixar's "Inside Out," playing Cleo Trumbo in "Trumbo," and Martha Kent in 2013's "Man of Steel" and 2016's "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice." She starred opposite Kevin Costner in 2020's "Let Him Go."
Since the '80s, Fox has made a name for herself in both film and TV, including appearances in Fox's "Empire," "Independence Day: Resurgence" and Lifetime's series of "Wrong" movies.
The Oscar-winning Tomei maintains a tireless work ethic, playing roles in "The Big Short," "Captain America: Civil War," and the Tom Holland "Spider-Man" movies.
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Queen Latifah (birthdate: 03/19/1970)
The rapper turned actress and producer stars in CBS' hit reboot of "The Equalizer."
Taraji broke out in "Baby Boy," and has garnered recognition for her roles in "Hustle and Flow" and 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." She most recently starred in "Hidden Figures" and rocked everybody's world as Cookie on "Empire."
After turning heads in "The Passion of the Christ" and two of the three "Matrix" films, the Italian actress returned to the silver screen as a Bond girl in 2015's "Spectre." And then starred as Italian photographer Tina Modotti in the miniseries "Radical Eye."
The actress broke out in the late-'90s series "Ally McBeal," then starred in films like "Charlie's Angels" and "Kill Bill." In 2019, she wrapped a long run playing Watson in CBS' Sherlock Holmes series "Elementary."
This three-time Oscar and Tony nominee is working hard, with big roles in shows like "Ozark," "Tales of the City" and Viggo Mortensen's film "Falling."
Octavia Spencer had her big break with her role in "The Help" in 2011 -- and she won an Oscar for it. Since, she's starred in "Fruitvale Station," "Hidden Figures," and "Ma."
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Ming-Na Wen (birthdate: 11/20/63)
In addition to being the enchanting voice of the heroine in Disney's "Mulan," Wen is known for her roles on "Stargate Universe," Disney+'s "The Mandalorian" and ABC's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."
Since her days as a "Friends" leading lady, Kudrow has been active in film and TV, playing characters in Netflix’s "BoJack Horseman," "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising," the 2019 indie hit "Booksmart" and the Netflix comedy "Space Force."
The "As Good As It Gets" actress drew acclaim in 2012 for her role in Sundance favorite "The Sessions" and recently starred in the sitcom reboot "Mad About You."
Even after the end of ABC's "Ugly Betty" and the short-lived "666 Park Avenue," Williams has kept working with projects like "Daytime Divas" and Justin Simien's 2020 film "Bad Hair."
Whiledoing charity work for her anti-sex-trafficking foundation Thorn, Moore has returned to the screen in TV projects like "Empire," "Animals." and "Brave New World."
After appearing in "Elysium" and "Carnage," the Oscar-winning actress took a break from acting and returned to directing with 2016's "Money Monster" starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts and an episode of "Black Mirror." She then appeared in front of the camera in 2020's "Prisoner 760."
With a career that spans four decades, Jason Leigh earned an Oscar nomination for 2015's "The Hateful Eight," then starred in shows like "Twin Peaks," "Patrick Melrose" and "Atypical" as well as movies like 2020's "The Woman in the Window."
Despite the 2016 cancellation of her short-lived sitcom "Angel from Hell," Lynch has made strides in the past few years, hosting NBC's "Hollywood Game Night" and earning Emmy attention for "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."
Having appeared in both mainstream and art-house films, Moore received acclaim for her Oscar-winning performance in "Still Alice." She followed with showy roles in 2020's "The Woman in the Window" and Julie Taymor's "The Glorias."
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Lorraine Toussaint (birthdate: 04/04/60)
Starting her career in theater before transitioning into film and TV, Toussaint has appeared in Ava DuVernay's "Selma" and the short-lived Fox series "Forever." She's also received praise for her work as Vee in Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black" and series like "Into the Badlands" and "The Village."
One of Hollywood and Britain's most accomplished performers, Thompson appeared in 2017's "Beauty and the Beast," Mindy Kaling's "Late Night" in 2019 and 2021's "Cruella."
An actress known for her roles in horror films and the 2003 comedy "Freaky Friday," Lee Curtis has lately appeared on screen in 2018's "Halloween" reboot and 2019's "Knives Out."
Though she's known primarily for her film roles, including her turn in Spike Lee's 2016 drama "Chi-Raq" and 2018's "Black Panther," Bassett is a TV regular, particularly in FX's anthology series "American Horror Story" and "9-1-1."
In addition to being a TV personality, a two-time Oscar host and an LGBTQ advocate, DeGeneres found time to reprise her role as the forgetful blue tang in Pixar's 2016 hit "Finding Dory," the sequel to 2003's "Finding Nemo."
The Georgia-born Oscar winner returned to film in 2012 after a seven-year hiatus, and has since had roles in "The Big Sick," "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice," and TV shows like "Here and Now" and "Succession."
Known for her early '90s roles in "Sex, Lies, & Videotape," "Groundhog Day," and "Four Weddings and a Funeral," MacDowell has appeared in recent films like "Only the Brave" and 2019's "Ready or Not."
The three-time Academy Award nominee appeared in 2015's acclaimed "Room" and ABC's mystery melodrama "The Family" as well as Apple TV+'s "Lisey's Story."
Russo, a Vogue model-turned-BAFTA nominated actress, juggled lots of roles in recent movies, including Marvel's "Thor," the neo-noir thriller "Nightcrawler" the Nancy Meyers comedy "The Intern" and 2019's "Velvet Buzzsaw."
The actress and producer has kept busy since ending her long-running daytime talk show, overseeing her OWN network and appearing in series like "Greenleaf" and movies such as "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" and "A Wrinkle in Time."
The Golden Globe and SAG-winning actress starred in the 2016 crime comedy caper "The Nice Guys" and had a big role in the last two "Fifty Shades" movies.
A well-known character actress, Steenburgen has appeared in several TV shows (Fox’s "The Last Man on Earth," Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black") and films ("Song One," "A Walk in the Woods"). She starred in the 2016 drama "The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" and 2018's "Book Club."
Since her breakthrough role in 1973’s “Live and Let Die,” Seymour has kept busy in projects like the 2016 spoof movie "Fifty Shades of Black" and the CW’s "Jane the Virgin."
One of the most recognized and active women working in Hollywood today, Streep is keeping her acclaimed acting streak alive. Recent projects include "The Post," "Little Women," Netflix's "The Prom" and HBO's "Big Little Lies."
The "Ghostbusters" alum has been in 12 movies since 2010, ranging from "Chappie" to "The Cabin in the Woods." She had a cameo in 2016's female-led remake of "Ghostbusters" and stars in James Cameron's upcoming "Avatar" sequels.
A multiple Oscar, Golden Globe, and SAG winner, Lange has been drawing acclaim since the '80s, especially for her performance in FX’s "American Horror Story."
Since her breakout debut in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather Part II," Coll has had recurring TV roles in shows like "Switched at Birth," "Glee" and "Teen Wolf." She starred as Alba Villanueva in the CW's "Jane the Virgin."
The "Fatal Attraction" star garnered praise and an Oscar nomination for 2017's "The Wife" and has clocked roles in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies as well as 2020's "Hillbilly Elegy."
The Oscar winner is another one of Hollywood's biggest and most active actresses, including memorable turns in recent movies like the "Red" and "Fast & Furious" series as well as shows like "Catherine the Great."
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Nicole Kidman joins Robin Wright, Viola Davis, and Laura Linney among the stars making waves on screen
These strong women have aged gracefully — while still governing Hollywood.